I'm gonna keep this short. I have not been on here because the last time I was I was pregnant, and a few weeks ago I had miscarried. I wanted time with my husband to reflect, grieve and pray and realized that if now is not that time for a baby then when it is God will give us one. I ask you to understand and I am sorry for being away. Enjoy.
Chapter 1.
"School stinks," My ten year old daughter Mamrie whined as we walked to my car. "all the kids are mean, can't we move?" I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.
"No sweetie, I have a good job here." I held open the front door for her and she climbed in. I walked around our land cruiser and climbed into the front seat. "I'm sure your sister is at home bouncing off the walls because I know Alice gave her candy."
"Ellie slept in my room again last night, I think she thought you'd be mad if she crawled into your bed." Mamrie said as we pulled onto the main road.
"I won't be mad but she can't keep sleeping in everyones bed she needs to sleep in her own." I mumbled. My three year old daughter, Ellie, was the cutest little girl in the world, until it came to bedtime. She never wanted to sleep and when you finally got her down she would crawl out of bed and try to go and sleep with someone else.
The drive home lasted five minutes and as soon as I pulled into the driveway Ellie was out the door running towards me. "Mommy," I picked Ellie up and reached for my travel lunch bag in the back. "you were gone forever."
"I know," I said kissing Ellie's cheek and walking into the house. Alice sat at the dinning room table drinking a cup of coffee. "how was she Alice? Did she give you any trouble?"
"No just no nap once again." Alice smiling standing and kissing Ellie's head. Mamrie waved to Alice then ran up to her room. "Hey we're having a coming home party for Edward tonight come over." Edward was Alice's older brother, he had moved away to West Virgina when he graduated high school for college. After college is was sent into training for the FBI. After ten years in the FBI he didn't have the same passion for it as he used to so he quit and now owned a farm in Tennessee. Edward rarely came home and since he officially decided to spend a a few days at home here inTexas his family was excited. Edward and I never really spoke, he was five years older than me and only knew me as Alice's best friend. I knew him as the hottest guy on the planet that never paid attention to me.
"I'll see how this little one is feeling because we don't want a crabby Ellie do we?" I kissed her cute chubby cheek and set her on the ground. "Tell Esme if I come over I want Oreo Cheesecake!" Alice laughed and walked out to her car.
"Mamrie come down here," I shouted taking my shoes off and tossing them in the corner. Her footsteps pounded above me until she appeared at the bottom of the steps "if you get all your homework done, and done correctly, we'll go to the Cullen's tonight for dinner." Mamrie's eyes lit up. Mamrie's best friend, Hannah Cullen, was Rosalie Cullen's daughter. She was a year older than Mamrie and they both went to different schools.
"Deal," she smiled and sat down at the kitchen table, starting to pull her books out of her book bag she stopped when she pulled a piece of paper out. "Uh, here can you throw this away."
I took the paper from her, it was a form for a Father/Daughter dance at her school. "I'm sorry," I whispered kissing the top of her head "I wish there was someway he could be here."
"If he doesn't care about us why should I care about him?" she asked crumpling up the paper and setting it on the table. "I just want to finish my homework so we can leave." I left Mamrie alone and went upstairs to change into jeans and a grey v-neck. Ellie was standing outside my door sucking her thumb and rocking side to side.
"Mommy," Ellie raised her hands above her head and I picked her up "I wanna go to school with you." I smiled and kissed Ellie on the cheek.
"I don't go to school silly, I go to work where I get coffee for my boss and wait on him hand and foot." I laughed when Ellie looked at me confused "I don't go to school, Mamrie does." I carried Ellie downstairs and sat with Mamrie at the kitchen table. "How much homework?"
"Just math, I'm almost done it was only five problems." she mumbled. I was blessed with a smart child who thought every subject was easy, as for me I slid by with B's and C's where Mamrie only wanted A's. I watched her wiz through the problems and finish in no time. "Done, can we leave now?" I nodded and she ran to go put her shoes on.
"Come here El," I yelled to Ellie from the kitchen "and bring you princess shoes." Ellie snuffled into the kitchen and I helped her tie her tiny shoes. "Where going to a coming home party for Edward."
"Whose Edward?" Ellie asked and I smiled, she'd find out.
Edward
"I'm so happy you're home!" My little sister Alice said wrapping her arms around my waist. "You're going to have the best couple days here, I'll show you everything that's new and well go camping!"
"Slow down Alice, I came back to relax and see everyone. I lived here for eighteen years I know what's around town." I ruffled her hair. "Is the family the one ones coming tonight."
"Yeah, plus Bella, do you remember her?" I nodded, how could I not she was Alice's nerdy best friend. "She's coming with her kids, she just texted me a few minutes ago that they're on there way!"
"Whoa Bella has kids, how long has she been married?" I was stunned, not that I didn't think Bella had potential back in the day but I guess I never really saw her as a mother.
"She's not married," Alice pulled away "she just has two amazing daughters and that's it. Don't mention anything about the girls fathers, okay?"
"Two dads?"
"Shut up Edward, it's a long story maybe if you're nice to her she'll tell you. Just don't judge her, she amazing and graduated high school and college and is now an amazing nurse." I held up my hands in defense.
"I'm not judging just asking a simple question." I smiled. My brother Emmett walked out of our parent's backdoor and threw a football at me. I threw it back at him and went long. I saw the rest of my family pile outside with beers in their hands.
"Bella!" I heard Alice yell and watched as the back gate opened. Holy shit, that was not the nerdy Bella I remembered, this Bella was taller and her curvy body filled out her clothes beautifully. Her long brown hair fell half way down her back and her brown eyes were as beautiful as I remember. What amazed me was the older looking girl behind Bella, she looked small for her age but looked just like Bella, so did the second little girl, who followed right behind the first.
Emmett jogged over and draped an arm over my shoulder "I know right, what happened to the Bella that wore glasses and had conservative clothing? Alice is what happened. Plus a couple kids gave her that nice looking body."
"I'm sorry aren't you married, you don't need to be looking at Bella." I laughed.
"Oh shit, Alice is bringing them over here maybe you should ditch the redneck clothing and Bella will find you attractive." I elbowed Emmett in the stomach and he ran away. As Bella came closer the more beautiful I noticed she looked, no makeup just simple Bella. Her head reached just below my shoulders and I couldn't help but smile.
"Edward you remember Bella," Alice made the introduction "these are her two daughters, Mamrie, she's ten and Ellie she's three." I shook Mamrie's hand and knelt down in front of Ellie.
"Hey there princess," Ellie smiled and grabbed onto Bella's leg. "Nice to see you again Bella." I stood up and looked down at her.
"Very nice to see you as well Edward, I'm glad you're back your family defiantly missed you." My mother shouted that dinner was ready and no one hesitated to run inside. When the dinning room was full I saw Bella slip out the back door with her plate, I grabbed two beers and followed her. "Oh you don't have to sit here." Bella blushed when I handed her a beer and sat down with her.
"I'd rather be out here where I'm not hounded with questions on why I haven't gotten married and produced a grandchild."
"Just tell them that you enjoy the peacefulness at your ranch and don't need a woman at the moment." She popped open her beer and took a sip. "You're giving me the look."
"And what might 'the look' be?"
"That look where you want to ask me a bunch of questions but don't want to offend me." She caught on fast. "How much did Alice tell you?"
"She told me nothing, just that the girls have two dads."
"That's always a conversation starter." Bella sighed and ran a hand through her hair "Not long after you left here I got involved with the wrong crowd, smoking weed, drinking, staying out late. Going into high school with the wrong crowd isn't a good idea. Long story short, sophomore year I dated this kid Marcus King, bad-boy, made the decision to have sex with him and got pregnant. Haven't heard from him since."
"You haven't spoken to him at all?" she shook her head "Not even at school did you guys ever talk? I mean you two went to the same school he have to have seen you."
"Right after I told him a month later he transferred. I'm not mad, I got Mamrie out of it and she's wonderful and I can't see a single thing of her father in her so that's a good thing."
"Do you know where Marcus is?"
"Mhm, New York he's a writer for Time Magazine. I sent him a letter on her fifth birthday saying that if he ever wanted contact with her now would be the time and he replied back that he will sign over his rights."
"Wow," I leaned back in my chair astonished. How could a man abandon his family, that just seemed heartless to me. "and Ellie's dad?"
"He was different I guess, nice at the beginning then after six months I started to notice he had a drinking problem. He was a great guy, didn't want kids I'm guessing. I told him and he was hesitant and when we told his family they were pissed." I noticed the tears in her eyes "I feel if his parent's weren't so negative about the situation than maybe he would have thought twice about leaving me."
"Where is he?"
"Here," she said giving me a half smile "Mayor Benton's son Shawn." My mouth dropped open, Shawn Benton was Ellie's father. I had played baseball with him back in high school and he seemed like a decent guy. "No one knows that Ellie is his, Shawn's father offered to pay a huge amount of money to keep me quiet but I declined. If he didn't want her that bad he could sign over parental rights and leave us alone." Bella sighed "he hasn't bothered me in three years."
"Didn't people talk though, I mean it's the mayors son and this is a small town." I asked "Everyone knows everyones business you could easily put two-in-two together."
"Shawn and his father were able to convince people that Shawn and I had broken up about two months in before, I kept my mouth shut and no one said a word. People know wonder but I'm guessing it would be better if they just kept their mouth shut." I was stunned, I had been gone ten years and missed so much. The fact that Bella had gone through so much broke my heart.
"Anytime you need to get away from this town, take a breather you call me and you can come up to the ranch. I have the space and would love the company." Bella smiled "I'm serious Bella, anytime."
"I might take you up on that Edward." She stretched "So how long are you staying?"
"Four days, but my family thinks that they can make me stay longer but I got vegatables and animals to take care of."
"Gonna break their heart knowing you're not staying that long. They talk about you all the time."
"Yeah and I love my family to death, but I love having alone time up in Tennessee. It's my home away from home, I love sitting on my back porch with my dog and watching the sun go down."
"In complete silence," Bella closed her eyes "that sounds absolutely amazing."
I smiled at Bella "I'm sorry I never talked to you back then, you're a good listener. Plus you've got a pretty nice voice to listen to."
"Oh-" Bella couldn't finish because the back door opened and Ellie ran over to Bella. "Did you finish eating?" Bella lifted Ellie onto her lap.
"Yeah, I eat all my pasta and my meatballs." Ellie grinned and cuddled against Bella. "You have a scruffy," Ellie pointed to my face "I feel?" I laughed and leaned over towards Bella. Ellie placed her gentle little hand on my face and rubbed it on my stubble. "Oh tickle mommy, feel!" Bella joined on the other side and laughed with Ellie. These two were something else.
XO
(If you're wondering how to pronounce Mamrie's name it's May-Ma-Re.)